Bulls v Highlanders

Wairau

even game over the local guys try to influence the match, waiting for us to drop it, delaying the hooter for 26 seconds over the 80m, while Highlanders were keeping it tight

about naholo red, I could see yellow, just. But the Bulls player spilt the ball and Naholo went for the ball and caught him in the head with a strong challenge. He was definitely targeting the ball.

Rebound

@Tordah said in Bulls v Highlanders:

Referee has been the best on the park

for real

He managed to make a sh1t game even worse with his bullsh1t calls

Rebound

@Tordah said in Bulls v Highlanders:

Pleasants-Tate gets a shoulder to the face in a cleanout

Right in front of the ref yet he could not make the call

Frye

You have to love Aaron Smith. Gets completely poleaxed by Steenkamp, and at the very next scrum, gives the man a low five: "good shot bro"

Wairau

completely off topic, since there isn't a thread....but I switched to the Madrid Open semi between Nadal and Djokovic (go Nadal!)
and there are some mighty fine ball girls....they all seem to be 21 years old and sexy as h*ll

aaand a follow up... http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rtv/6300390
Oct. 21: The Spanish government is asking tennis organizers to stop using models as ball-girls in Madrid Masters tennis tournament, calling it sexist.

Tordah

@Wairau said in Bulls v Highlanders:

aaand a follow up... http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rtv/6300390
Oct. 21: The Spanish government is asking tennis organizers to stop using models as ball-girls in Madrid Masters tennis tournament, calling it sexist.

so they'll only use ugly women now? Everything's sexist nowadays, it seems. At least in the eyes of ugly women.

booboo

@African-Monkey said in Bulls v Highlanders:

It was a clear red only a biased kiwi would think otherwise.

From the two shots I've seen of it I think a red is harsh.

Whilst I admit my bias I think your reaction maybe a bit Marshallesque.

taniwharugby

Naholo has always been a bit clumsy, that was a bit harsh IMO. When you see an impact coming, your shoulder is gonna help self preservation so you adjust for the shoulder to take the impact, thus making heavier impact with the shoulder, therefore shoulder charge and red card...I think red was inevitable but still harsh IMO.

booboo

Watching the recording.

Hell that red was harsh!!

Was hardly a penalty. Well under previous interpretations. A yellow is a stretch.

Yeah the new high contact interpretation may have come into play but I struggle with being sent off for an inadvertent collision.

He had every right to expect to make a tackle. In fact if the Bulls player had held the ball he would have cleaned him up.

taniwharugby

some highlights including both RCs...how shit was the pitch!

https://www.facebook.com/SuperRugby/videos/1348709371830945/

booboo

@taniwharugby pitch was great! Real rugby

nzzp

Thanks @taniwharugby for the link, good to see the highlights. Plenty of slomo replays of Naholo - for me, I can see why it's a red under the new law interpretations, but it was a red for being clumsy more than anything. Both players reacted to the ball in the air, and it was unfortunate that the shoulder hit the chin.

As for the Bulls player going full noise into a Landers player in the ruck - that was a red all day. Shades of Bakkies Botha a few years ago, but didn't leave the ref much choice.

Not much chatter about Fekitoa's insane run to score the winning try? A 50 m effort, sensational stuff.

taniwharugby

@nzzp everyone loves to hate on Fekitoa...if he can sort his offence, the dudes workrate on d is top notch

Rembrandt

Agree, one bad pass and kick aside Fekitoa was actually bloody good. Would love to see his tackle stats seemed to be everywhere.

Nepia

WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.

Things are getting stupid.

Nepia

@taniwharugby said in Bulls v Highlanders:

@nzzp everyone loves to hate on Fekitoa...if he can sort his offence, the dudes workrate on d is top notch

Fekitoa hasn't been playing well more than he's hated I think.

It's funny, when he first burst on the scene it was for his attack and his defence was iffy, now it's reveresed.

booboo

@Nepia said in Bulls v Highlanders:

WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.

Things are getting stupid.

You are clearly a biased New Zealander

nzzp

@Nepia said in Bulls v Highlanders:

WTF. So I just watched that now - how is that a red? African Monkey was doing his nut about it last night (but I'd missed it on my feed and couldn't be arsed getting up to go watch on TV) so I thought it would be an easy clear red. It looked like a brace for impact after he missed the ball but looked worse due to the slow mo. It only looked worse because the point of contact with the Bulls player was the chin. If he wasn't reaching for the ball it would have been a shoulder on shoulder.

http://laws.worldrugby.org/?domain=9&language=EN

The contact was probably similar to the last video - A Hurricane on Foley in Super Rugby. World Rugby has redefined the threshold - shoulder to head, even if accidental --> red UNLESS mitigation is there.

Basicaly, they are trying to stop exactly that sort of contact. RIghtly or wrongly - but bad news for Naholo

African Monkey

@Nepia A shoulder to the head is a straight red. It was reckless from Naholo accidental or not and he got what he deserved.

If it was a Bulls player who did it you guys would all be calling for it to be red as well.

Chester Draws

I think that Naholo was straight red, no question. I don't care what he thought he was doing, at the last moment he decided to turn his shoulder in. If the Bulls guy had caught it, what was Naholo going to do other than a high tackle, coming in like that?

You can hardly say the ref was biased when he then not only red carded Bulls player, but stopped the likely winning try to do so.

The Silver Fern

Bulls v Highlanders